When Teddy Hears Sirius
by Mysterious Mischief Makers
Summary: A sweet one-shot about poor Teddy Lupin wanting to know about his parents.  This story includes the sweet bond between Harry Potter, Teddy's godfather, and Teddy, and also advice that came from Harry's godfather, Sirius.


**Hello there, everyone! This is my first story on FanFiction, so if there are mistakes please point them out. I don't think this is perfect or that its my best work, but I thought this would be a good start to my (hopefully long) run here on this website. I'd like to point out that I've read all the Harry Potter books and watched all the movies, and I in no way want a sequel AT ALL. I completely ADORE the Marauders and would LOVE LOVE LOVE a prequel. Remus is my favorite, and my love for him transfers itself equally to Teddy. So here this is. Nothing special, and some things are left for your own mind to ponder, but I personally think its sweet. I'm not going to pound you for reviews because I personally don't care as long as you enjoy it, whether I know it or not. But if you'd LIKE to review it and show me ways I could improve and something I'm doing right, that'd be lovely. But you don't HAVE to. Okay, I'm babbling. I hope you enjoy.**

_When Teddy Hears Sirius (A Teddy Lupin One-Shot)_

There comes a time in everyone's life when they become very curious about their family history. For some, it can be at the mere ages of eight or ten, barely comprehending half of what their family members explain to them. For others, it can be as late as seventy or eighty, wondering why they never asked questions to their family while they still could. But for one boy, a boy that was magically different in so many ways, the thought had interested him at the age of eleven.

Teddy Lupin had always been interested in his parents. They both were often talked about, and both seemed to have given Teddy a piece of them. Teddy heard it all the time from strangers and friends alike, and couldn't help but wonder if the similarities were a good or bad thing. For you see, Ted Remus Lupin never met his parents.

They had died for him when he was barely six months old.

If you grew up knowing this, it came as a sad, yet all-knowing thought forever gleaming in the back of your head. Teddy used to not think much of it as a young boy; he had his grandmother, and people just as good as family, like his godfather, Harry Potter. Harry was probably the closest father-like figure Teddy had ever had. He was always there to play and laugh with him, and gave amazing advice. Harry was always so brave and so strong; Teddy admired him almost _too _many ways. But as a young boy, that's very natural. Harry was everything Teddy wanted to be.

Whenever Harry and Teddy would go out in public around fellow witches and wizards, people would look at them admirably, and some would point and shake their heads in awes. Some would even ask for autographs, which made Teddy ask, "Harry, why do all these people like to see you?"

Harry would just laugh and say, "Let's just say I've made lots of friends and leave it at that, eh, Ted?"

Teddy would just nod, being the elder toddler he'd been at the time, his mind so preoccupied with distant thoughts that his question had only come out of a present distraction.

But now, Teddy was about to head off towards Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the place both his parents and Harry had gone to school. Over the course of his young life, Teddy had found out why and how Harry had become famous and what his achievements were. He had found out why his parents died, and where it happened. Teddy had found out that his father was a werewolf and his mother a Metamorphagus, _an odd couple_, Teddy would think with a chuckle. He had seen pictures of his aging yet handsome father with Teddy's mother right beside him, grinning wildly and looking as young and wild as ever.

Teddy had come to almost fully acknowledge what his parents had been fighting for, why Voldemort was so terrible, and why Harry had been the one to finish him off, once and for all. But there were simple questions, some past the content put in books about the Order of the Phoenix, an organization both his parents were in. Some questions he was almost embarrassed to ask his grandmother, who loved reliving the happy times when her daughter had been taken into Auror school and had passed training. Teddy was worried he'd go off to school and have his classmates know more about his parents than he did, and frankly, that just wouldn't be right. So when Saturday, August 25th came, and Teddy Lupin was over at Harry Potter's house for dinner, time seemed to step in with fate.

They were all in the Potter's living room, laughing as they heard another story about Harry's time at the office. He was Head of the Auror Department even without proper training, and always was the life of the party whenever the families got together. Harry's stories about his life working at the Ministry were always fun, engaging, funny, and not to mention dangerous. Teddy couldn't help but think, after hearing Harry's story on how he and his best friend Ron Weasley barely escaped being seen by a Muggle while performing seriously advanced magic, that Harry Potter was the best godfather the world could have given him. This spun an even fresher question.

Harry finished his story with a peaceful resolution. Ginny, his wife, smiled while sipping her butterbeer; Andromeda Tonks, Teddy's grandmother, congratulated Harry on another successful task; Teddy just sat there, his small, skinny frame beaming up at his godfather from the comfortable couch he had grown up on.

Andromeda then stood up. "Well, we'll keep you no longer. We know you both have a tight schedule and, besides, Ted and I have to go to Diagon Alley tomorrow."

Harry smiled hugely while standing up and advancing on both Ted and his grandmother. "Oh, well, if you must go. I almost forgot! Teddy, you'll be going to Hogwarts in a week's time, aren't you?"

Ted couldn't help but grin as his hero acknowledged him. "Yeah, I can't wait! I really hope I get put into Gryffindor like you and my Dad!"

Harry smiled an almost reminiscing gleam in his bright green eyes. "I bet you will, son. But know that no matter what we'll be proud of you. Let no assumptions about _any _house make you nervous; it isn't the House that makes you who you are, it's you that makes the House, isn't it?"

Ted's eyes furrowed into a frown from both confusion and disappointment as Andromeda walked, her hand slightly pushing Teddy's slender back, towards the door. "But what if the Sorting Hat sorts me into the wrong House?"

Harry reached for the doorknob as he replied, "It won't, Teddy. I promise. It's your characteristics that gets you into the House you're sorted, not just a hat."

As Andromeda walked out the door that Harry was holding open, Teddy slipped from under her arms and tugged at Harry's shoulder. "Harry?"

Harry looked down at his young godson and smiled. "Teddy?"

Teddy looked around to see Ginny standing a good few feet away from them and his grandmother about the same distance away, though outside the door. "I need to ask – well, tell – well, uhm…" Ted started to let his eyes wander across the top hinge of the door before whispering, "I wanted to talk to you about my Mum and Dad. Stuff – stuff I don't think Grandmamma would know…or at least, would be able to talk about, anyways."

"TED LUPIN! Are you going to come out here or not!" demanded Andromeda, her dark gray hair flurrying in the slight wind.

"Andromeda…" Harry said simply and walked towards her.

Harry put his hand over one side of his mouth and whispered something to her. As he did, her eyes widened a bit, and she locked eyes with him before replying, "Yes, yes of course."

"Thanks," Harry said, nervousness shining in his now tight complexion, and started walking back towards the door where Teddy was sure he knew what had been said out in the pavement.

Suddenly they heard the clanking of heels edge towards the door. "Oh, but Harry, dear—"

Harry turned around, one arm around Ted and the other closing the door. "Yes?"

"Be gentle," said Andromeda worryingly as she edged through the door and headed to sit beside a very befuddled Ginny.

"Come on, mate," Harry said kindly as he guided Ted up the stairs. Ted stayed silent, knowing that when the time to come to talk, he would.

As they hit the second floor of the small, yet cozy home of the Potter's, Harry guided Teddy to a room at the end of the hall, its entrance in the form of an old, wooden door with a rusted doorknob. Somewhere right above the middle of the door, there was a rusted plate that read, _SIRIUS_.

"Is that—" Ted started, pointing.

"You'll see," cut off Harry, opening the door.

It was a small room. It smelled like old parchment and rusting wood, a fastidious smell to Teddy, who spent any extra time he had with a small chapter book. There was a large cabinet in the far right corner, filled with yellow parchment and books with covers that were falling off. The drawers were closed, and Ted longed to reach out and open them. Jewelry spawned over one small part of the surface, and Teddy couldn't help but question why Harry would ever want to store necklaces and bracelets. In the corner on the opposite side of the wall stood a brown desk with a chair drawn underneath, a piece of parchment partly closed on top of it. Between these two places was what looked like a treasure chest, and above it, fused in the wooden wall, was a cracked and old window that made the city look as though it came from a battered camera lens. There was a huge wardrobe on the left side of the wall near the entrance, and on the other side stood an umbrella stand and an old trash can bin.

"Pull up a chair," Harry offered, his hand lazily pointing towards the chair slightly ajar beside the desk. Harry got one that was sitting beside the wardrobe, one that Teddy had not noticed upon entrance.

Teddy walked towards the chair and pulled it a few feet out from the ancient desk and turned it more towards the door. It was a pitiful attempt, but Teddy being as lanky as he was didn't exactly contribute any good. Harry carried his own chair mid-air and set it beside Teddy's, who was clicking his knees anxiously together as he sat down.

"So what do you want to know?" asked Harry softly. It was the exact opposite of the voice he had used downstairs when telling his story. It was quiet, considerate, and Harry talked to Teddy as though he could break by too loud of a noise.

"I don't really know…" Teddy started, and as he saw Harry's face rumple in confusion, he quickly added, "…NO, I mean…I want to know lots of things. What House they were in, how old they were, what they used to sound like, what they used to call me, how they – they—" Teddy had noticed his voice was starting to crack. He had been thinking these thoughts for so long that the idea of hearing them had never really been acknowledged. Voicing them almost let out Teddy's vulnerability, and his actual anger and sadness towards how little he actually knew. "—how they appointed you my – my godfather, why they died, how they died, where exactly they died, who killed them, and why they left—why they didn't stay—why I'm alone—" Teddy avoided his godfather's eyes. Thinking and knowing were two different things, and now after voicing his questions aloud, realization hit Teddy hard. It was a fact that Teddy Lupin didn't and never would have any parents. He felt alone, and was positively certain that no one else at Hogwarts would be an orphan. Teddy felt his lips shaking, his skin suddenly become very cold, and when he tried closing his eyes, tears streamed out onto his cheeks.

Harry lifted Teddy up out of the chair and gave him a bone-crushing hug. Teddy Lupin _needed _it. The only family Teddy had was his grandmother, and while she was kind and wonderful company, Teddy never really exposed his true feelings to her. Why should he? She's gone through so much pain in her life, why would he burden her with his? Teddy buried his face in his godfather's chest, his tears staining Harry's white shirt.

"Shhh…." Harry whispered gently into thin air, his own eyes starting to water but not letting his voice show it. "Its gonna be alright, Teddy. I know, Teddy, I know…"

Teddy suddenly came to an obvious realization and let go of his desperate cling onto Harry. "You do know, don't you?"

Harry didn't respond, but looked at Teddy with his eyebrows lowered in confusion.

"You know what it's like to grow up with no parents."

Harry nodded slowly, and ran his hands through Teddy's hair, which was now a dark blue. "Yeah, I do. Isn't the best feeling in the world, is it?"

Teddy shook his head as he wiped away his tears with the back of his hands. "More like the worst."

"You don't realize," Harry started, while crouching low on his heels to rival Teddy's height, "how very lucky you are, Ted Lupin. You have a grandmother to love you, cousins and friends to give you company, and a godfather who I heard seems to care for you a lot."

Ted sniffled a grin through his tears.

"I had none of that, Teddy. My aunt and uncle hated me… I slept in a cramped _cupboard_. I had no friends for eleven years, Teddy, and I lived for so long without knowing what it was like to be loved. But you don't!" Harry said happily, smiling as he pulled his hand out of Ted's hair and looked him dead in the eye. "You know what it's like to be loved, you know what it's like to be cared for, and even more importantly Teddy, you return the favors."

Teddy smiled again. "So you don't think Mum and Dad would be – ashamed of me or anything?"

Harry's eyes widened and he replied forcefully, "Of _course _not Teddy! Whatever gave you the idea that Remus and Nymphadora Lupin would _ever _be ashamed of their own son?"

"I just thought – people always say that they were so brave, and put other people's lives in front of their own – and here I am, pouring my eyes out to you, not caring or helping anyone else!" Teddy said guiltily, tilting his head over his shoulder to avoid his godfather's loving stare as he looked out the pattered window.

Harry opened and closed his mouth a few times, then almost grinned as he began, "Sit down, Teddy. I want to tell you about your father."

Teddy sniffled as Harry sat back down. The young boy soon followed suit, though sniffled a few times.

"Remus Lupin was my dad's best friend when they went to school. They called themselves the Marauders – neat name, isn't it?" Harry gave a warm smile towards his godson and saw his eyes. They were purple. Harry sighed. "Anyways, well, they were all given nicknames. Your dad was Moony."

"Because he was a werewolf?" asked Teddy hopefully.

Harry nodded. "Yes Teddy, but you must understand something. Remus – er – your dad lived a good life. He had friends to count on, a family to love him, and later on, a wife who was over the moon for him…no pun intended."

Teddy smiled weakly. "Tell me more."

Harry eagerly accepted the invitation. "No one ever really talks about the times with those who passed during the war because it seems to soon, even eleven years after. That's why you never hear a lot, Teddy. Teddy, your dad…he was one of the most ill judged, kindest, strongest, bravest men I've ever known." Teddy looked out the window in his daze. "He taught me Defense Against the Dark Arts in my third year."

Teddy's eyes, still bearing eagerness and sorrow, became alert. "Dad taught – taught _you_?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, he did, and he was my absolute _favorite _teacher in the whole school." Harry wuickly added, "Though, I'd rather you not tell that to my old professors."

Teddy's mouth was slightly open. "You – my dad – Why hasn't anyone told me this?" asked Teddy finally.

Harry shifted, letting his posture bear adult authority. "I didn't think it was the right time. You never have shown too much interest in your parents, and we wanted you to stay happy and not buried in the past." Harry paused. "Your dad was incredibly intelligent. He taught me how to make a Patronus."

"Really?" Teddy whispered in awe.

Harry's eyes lit at the wonder in Teddy's voice. "Really," Harry whispered back. "And when you get into third year," he said in his normal voice, "I plan to do the same."

Teddy was speechless. He finally stuttered, "W-w-why?"

"I never fully repaid Remus," replied Harry truthfully. "What better way to do it than with you?"

Teddy's face had stopped littering tears but was still looking sad. _Yet_, Harry thought, _there is something undeniably happy in his face._

"Thank you, da—" Teddy bit his tongue, "—Harry."

Harry's eyes widened. There was an awkward silence where Teddy bit his lip and Harry sat frozen.

Teddy looked down, feeling miserable. "Sorry, Harry," he whispered. "Just talking about my dad with you, the one person – well, the one _guy _– who I've ever loved like family, I guess that I thought I could call you…no, I mean I wanted to—"

"I can't be Remus," Harry revealed.

Teddy looked up.

"I'd let you call me that, Teddy. I actually – I'd actually love it if you did," Harry said with a sheepish smile. "But I can't let you. It would be unhealthy, and I'd feel like I was stealing you from your dad."

Teddy nodded for what seemed like the tenth time that night.

"Remus appointed me your godfather soon after you were born. I was barely of age, and I don't know if it was the firewhisky or the grand happiness of the situation that made him crazy enough to ask me, but he somehow got the wild idea I'd make a great godfather—"

"You do! Harry, you're the best godfather I could've asked for!" Teddy said quickly and sternly, wanting to ensure that his godfather knew how truly amazing he really was.

Harry pulled a finger to his own lips. "Not finished." He dropped his hands and, upon seeing that Teddy remained silent, continued. "There is nothing, _nothing_, Teddy, that you could do to make your parents not love you. And yes, Teddy, I said 'love'. Not 'loved', not 'did love', or any other past tense phrase you can form in that smart brain of yours." Harry pulled his chair closer to Teddy, so that their knees brushed, and looked into Teddy's eyes once more.

"Show yourself, Teddy."

"What?"

"I assume that you weren't born with blue hair?"

"Actually, I thought I was."

Harry gave him a fatherly stern look, and with a sigh and a twitch of his nose, Teddy Remus Lupin lived up to his middle name.

Teddy's hair became a light brown, and landed halfway down his neck. His eyes, that had been a light yellow, became Remus' amber-brown, and became the size and shape of his mother's. His body stayed as skinny as his father's, and Teddy became slightly taller than he had been before. Teddy's nose completely confused Harry, and he wasn't sure whether that was Tonks' normal nose or if it was a morph between her's and Remus', or if it was a trait that solely belonged to Ted.

Harry blinked, bowed his head, sighed, then looked back up at the young boy, the tracks of his tears still showing on his pink cheeks.

"Teddy," Harry started, "I was like you. I found out I had a godfather when I was a few years older and, well, he basically became somewhat of a father to me. Sirius was who I looked up to, who I went to for advice, who would talk to me when I felt the whole world abandoned me…frankly, Teddy, he saved me. I know you probably know this, Teddy, but he was one of your dad's best friends when he was at school."

Teddy nodded and briefly stated, "Grandmamma told me about him…well as much as she could, anyways. She didn't really know Dad that long, so she never really talks about him." He looked at Harry expectantly, edging him to go on.

Harry scooted forward in his seat and continued. "Once, Sirius said something to me that I'll never forget. Something that got me through lots of hard times."

Harry reached his right hand out and touched right above Teddy's breast, and whispered,

_"The ones who love us never truly leave us. You can always find them…" Harry patted Teddy's heart, "…in here."_


End file.
